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Hereford Mappa Mundi

Inscribed 2007

What is it

A medieval map of the world on one sheet of vellum and featuring about 500 illustrations. Produced in England at either Lincoln or Hereford, the map is thought to have been made between c. 1290 and 1310.

Why was it inscribed

The Hereford Mappa Mundi is the only complete example of a large medieval world map intended for public display. The presentation of its information, in the form of a visual map-based encyclopedia, gives a crucial insight not only into medieval cartography but also into contemporary spirituality and the medieval worldview.

Where is it

Hereford Cathedral Library, Hereford, UK

The Hereford Mappa Mundi is the largest and most detailed surviving of the medieval genre of maps known as ‘mappae mundi’ and the most famous of its kind still in existence. ‘Mappa mundi’ was a term used in medieval times for a map of the world, ‘mappa’ meaning ‘cloth’.

Just as modern maps reflect our worldview, so did the cartography of medieval times. Unlike maps today, mappae mundi did not attempt an accurate representation of the physical landscape; rather, they showed the world as it was perceived and understood. Like other aspects of learning and education of the time, maps were intended as a spiritual tool and displayed the faith and devotion that were an integral part of the way contemporary people interpreted the world and their place in it.

The deeply spiritual and religious worldview of the medieval mind, expressed in the map interprets the world and everything in it as subject to God and part of an eternal order, with humans destined for death and judgement. The map depicts the earth as a circle, with Jerusalem, the place of Christ’s crucifixion, death and resurrection, at its centre, marked with the cross of Calvary. Outside the boundary of the world Christ sits in judgement at the top with the letters ‘m o r s’ (Latin for ‘death’) around the outside. Angels welcome the saved and turn away the unrepentant.

Within the circle of the world, physical features, places, scripture, mythology and imagination blend in a compendium of knowledge. Facts on history, flora and fauna, real and fictional races of people of unknown lands and tales from classical times feature alongside religious and Biblical content.

Five hundred drawings illustrate these themes, including around 420 depictions of towns and cities, outlined by walls and towers; fifteen illustrations of events from the Bible; thirty-three pictures of plants, animals, birds and fish; thirty-two illustrations of peoples of the earth; and eight images from classical mythology. Seas and rivers are coloured blue or green, with the exception of the Red Sea which is red, while the writing is black with red and gold embellishments. Hereford is depicted by a drawing of its cathedral. The author’s name, ‘Richard of Haldingham or Lafford’, is inscribed on the map.

According to another inscription on the map, it was based on a description of the world from the works of Orosius (c. AD 375), a student of St Augustine at Hippo. In addition to his spiritual, Biblical and theological knowledge, Orosius had studied the works of classic Roman authors, including Caesar, Livy and Tacitus. The Mappa Mundi is based on the synthesis of this learning.

The Mappa Mundi was not intended for use as a geographical tool, but was probably displayed in a wooden frame for educational reasons. The map was one of the latest of its genre: later large-scale medieval maps, for example the Catalan World Map of c.1375, differ from mappae mundi in that they are based on the portolan charts drawn up by sailors and consequently depict coastlines more accurately.